Sunday, October 15, 2006

No Sects, Please — We're British

Sorry, I just liked that headline. But there is indeed a story in today's Telegraph about a member of the Church of England's Synod asserting that the church has given up on its Biblical mandate to convert non-Christians, particularly Muslims. According to the article, he has some support from other Synod members. From the story:

Paul Eddy, a member of the General Synod, the Church's ruling body, said that the active recruitment of non-believers had always been a Biblical injunction on Christians.

But he claimed that the bishops were deliberately down-playing evangelisation among other faiths for fear of upsetting minority groups and their role in inter-faith talks.

Mr Eddy, from the Winchester diocese, has now tabled a private member's motion aimed at forcing the Church to clarify its position on what is potentially a highly sensitive issue. ...

... He said the Church's official statements tended to gloss over the issue of converting Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs or followers of other religions. His motion calls on the bishops to report back on "their understanding of the uniqueness of Christ in Britain's multi-faith society, and offer examples and commendations of good practice in sharing the gospel of salvation through Christ alone with people of other faiths and of none".

"My Muslim friends say they can't understand why we Christians don't evangelise more, especially as they have a strategy to convert Britain," said Mr Eddy.

"The Church needs to regain confidence in the God it professes to believe in, and a new confidence in the Gospel it should be proclaiming. And that starts with a clear steer from the bishops."

His motion follows growing concerns that the Government's efforts to turn Britain into a multi-faith society has eroded the influence of the majority Christian Church. [Full story]

RELATED: British Airways has suspended a flight attendant who refused to remove her small crucifix. Rules set by the airline's "diversity team" allow Sikh employees to wear their traditional iron bangle.